Morse car sells for record figure

TV sleuth Inspector Morse's famous Jaguar was sold for £53,000 - a record figure for the type of car, Coys auction house said.

The London company which auctioned the car last night said there had been a lot of interest in the 1960 burgundy Jaguar Mk II, which became a trademark feature of the series, driven through the picturesque streets of Oxford by the late John Thaw, who played Morse.

The buyer was thought to be a man from Sunderland, who intended to keep the car in the UK, a spokesman for Coys said.

"The car was sold to an English gentleman from Sunderland for £53,000 - it's the record that we have received for such a car," he said. The price included buyer's premium.

"The Mk II jaguar of that class is normally worth about £6,000," he added.

Last November, Morse creator Colin Dexter handed the keys of the Jaguar to lawyer James Went, 25, who had won the vehicle in a competition organised by Carlton Television and Woolworth's stores.

Mr Went said at the time that he was determined to drive the car rather than sell it.

But later Coys was contacted and told that the car was being sold by a business colleague of Mr Went.

The car, which has a black vinyl roof, featured in all 33 Inspector Morse episodes.

The last episode, in which Morse died, was screened in November 2000.

During the 13 years of filming of the series, the Jaguar was garaged in London and taken by transporter to the locations.

The steering and brakes have been overhauled, the off-side doors refurbished, the bumpers and chromework replaced and the inside has new carpets and new wood veneer.

In Dexter's books, Morse originally drove a classic Lancia.

But a Jaguar was chosen when the TV series began in January 1987 and Dexter changed Morse's car to a Mk II in subsequent reprints of the earlier novels.